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AIA establishes new UT Arlington endowment for graduate architecture students

ARLINGTON - The Fort Worth Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has established
a new $75,000 endowment for graduate architecture scholarships at The
University of Texas at Arlington.

The Maverick Match will double the size of the scholarship
endowment to $150,000.

Natural gas royalties are being used to encourage University
supporters to leverage major gifts that boost UT Arlington's academic and
research missions through the http://www.uta.edu/giving/maverick-match.pdf.
The program allows philanthropic partners who make endowment gifts of $25,000
or more to see their contribution doubled through natural gas royalty matching
funds.

Paul Dennehy, AIA president of the Fort Worth Chapter and
owner of Dennehy Architects in Fort Worth, said the chapter wanted to establish
the scholarship fund in a financially meaningful way.

“With the Maverick Match, it allowed us to up the ante and
make a real commitment to UT Arlington,” Dennehy said. “We hope to make a big
impact on students’ lives with this endowment. And, of course, we think it will
pay dividends for architectural firms in the future in producing the students
we need.”

Dennehy said the endowment is being named in honor of Suzie
Adams, the current AIA executive director of the Fort Worth Chapter. Dennehy
said Adams has been executive director for 38 years.

“She’s taken many interns under her wing and has a passion
for that,” Dennehy said. Her father-in-law, Charles R. Adams, was a noted
architect in Fort Worth for many years. “We thought it would be nice to
recognize all her years of service.”

Don Gatzke, dean of the UT Arlington School of Architecture,
said the endowment shows the strong connection between the school and the
profession.

“It also shows the confidence that our graduates are well
prepared to enter, and ultimately, become the design leaders in North Texas,”
Gatzke said. He said the endowment helps graduate students because that is the
degree which students must have to become licensed professionals.

Gatzke said architects across the board are needed but he
predicted more students would carry specializations in sustainable buildings
and health care building design. He said architects are increasingly assisting
organizations in overall strategic planning, business development and real
estate development.

The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive
undergraduate and graduate research institution of nearly 33,000 students in
the heart of North Texas. Visit www.uta.edu
to learn more.